The Healermen of KL: Part IV

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I’m back in KL less than 12 hours and I already find myself in the presence of a healer…of the mind and soul. His name is Stuart (Mackay) and he is the founder and director of the peaceatwork technique.

Born in Australia and formerly the owner of a successful design firm, Stuart once fired an employee only to be later led towards a transformative change in his life and career by this very same individual. He developed a method of third-eye / open meditation that has been taught, followed and workshopped around the world for the past thirty years. Peaceatwork has helped people overcome stress, mental and physical illness, irritability, anger and pain.

We are in Stuart’s home because he is scheduled to take part in a one-day retreat that Michelle is organizing for some of her students up at the Penchala Hills Eco-Center. After the meeting ends and just as we are about to leave, Stuart offers to show me the technique. I’m seated across from Stuart at a table; he tells me to simply stare at a point on the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes (the technique is equally effective if one stares into a mirror). From a tiny speaker placed on the table beside us, an unfamiliar tune plays; a calm instrumental piece of music interspersed with the occasional voice reminding the listener to relax, calm down and focus.

After a sudden fit of laughter, I compose myself and manage to keep my stare for the full 5 (or was it 10?) minutes. In the interim, my eyes have begun to burn and tear, and I notice a strange hallucinatory sensation creeping into and around my brain. But one thing is certain: I could be lulled into a peaceful sleep almost immediately.

Stuart shares stories of people overcoming a range of serious physical, mental and emotional challenges: A woman he knew was told that she had only a few weeks more to live. She turned to Stuart for guidance. After following his meditation sessions religiously, on a daily basis, the woman returned to the hospital for further scans – with Stuart by her side – only to be told that the tumor had all but disappeared. What am I to do with my wavering skepticism when he recounts such an anecdote?